HeAlTH
the difference
with lightweights
© Igor Meijer
Tall men and women are any coach’s dream when it comes to choosing potential
athletes. Talent identification throughout the world consistently adds a height and
leverage component to the selection criteria. But there is another class of rower
– the lightweight – privileged with three events at the olympic Games: the
lightweight men’s double and four and the lightweight women’s double.
© Jaap Oepkes
16
Lightweight rowing was boosted in status
when it was added to the Olympic schedule
in 1996. This was the result of FISA aiming
to make the sport more universal, looking
especially to Asian nations where generally
the population’s stature is smaller compared
to western countries.
Robin Williams, ex-lightweight athlete and
Great Britain’s men’s lightweight coach since
2005, deals with his athletes a little differently
than with the big men of Cambridge
University that he coached for 11 years.
is to be able to race without weight-making
being a really big deal, which it can be,” says
Williams. “It works well.”
The key to eating as a
lightweight is getting the right
balance of nutrition.
The small number of race categories
for lightweights has made it one of the
most competitive events in the Olympic
programme and, with athletes closer in
stature and weight to each other, it gives way
to some extremely tight finishes.
“I don’t think there’s much difference between
coaching heavyweights and lightweights
except usually lightweights are a bit shorter
so you need to use more body reach to help
the length of stroke,” says Williams. “I think
they can do what the heavyweights do but I
watch their recovery to make sure they don’t
go over the edge.”
Bent Jensen is “Mr. Lightweight Rowing”
having established himself at the higher
echelons of coaching following the success
of the Danish lightweight men’s four. Jensen
took over coaching the four when it became
an Olympic event. He continued through to
the 2004 Olympic gold and currently coaches
Canada’s lightweight men.
Is there a difference between the lightweight
athletes and their heavier counterpart?
Williams is not directly involved in diet and
weight plans for his athletes, instead using the
team physiologists and nutritionists. “The aim
Jensen acknowledges that many lightweights
naturally weigh more than the 72.5kg
maximum required for men. His philosophy,
therefore, is to only come down to this weight
for important races. Hence Jensen often had
>>
